02-05-2023, 03:47 AM
(02-05-2023, 02:42 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: The Packers offered Adams more money than the Raiders did. He left because Rodgers couldn't guarantee he would be playing for the Packers for more than 2022. (Ironic because then one of his best friends Carr is going to be gone after a year in Vegas, but it's also looking like Rodgers won't be in Green Bay, so probably net positive choice for Adams?) Basically Adams just didn't want Jordan Love to be his QB. He started his career slow, so if he has any chance of the HoF he needs to dominate 2022-2026.
The Chiefs still had Travis Kelce (their real #1, he led the team in yards both 2019 and 2020 before losing out 2021 by 114, before Tyreek left) and had a $29.4m cap hit for Chris Jones in 2021. He has a $28.3m cap hit and Frank Clark's is $30m in 2023. That's why they chose the picks and adding multiple lower cost guys than extending Tyreek. Same reason I don't expect Tee to be extended here.
They can make Burrow and Chase work. They don't have any gigantic contracts right now. Tee too is where I don't think it'll really work, because that's adding an extra $25m/yr or whatnot.
I don't find the Anderson trade that intriguing because say you trade Tee Higgins not for the 2nd overall pick. You can expect to receive a 1st round pick in teens as well as a 3rd round pick. That's pretty much the going rate for a WR perceived as a #1. So by trading Tee along with your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, you're also forgoing a possible 1st and 3rd.
So you're basically trading two 1st rounders, a 2nd rounder, and two 3rd rounders for Anderson. I honestly am not sure there's ANYONE I would currently trade that amount for to get on the Bengals right now, even among current NFL players. That's 5 players you could have reasonable expectations to be at least solid contributors, to potentially stars, all under very reasonable contracts for at least 4 years each.
I'll take a 1st round TE, 1st round RT or RB, 2nd round RT or RB (whichever you don't take with your second first), a 3rd round CB, and a 3rd round WR over Anderson. Those picks could do wonders for filling a bunch of holes on the roster at affordable prices.
There's a lot to unpack here (too much for me). But the point still holds. This team will inevitably need to do some fancy accounting to budget for just one of their wideouts alongside Burrow, forget about two. They can do it- of course they can do it- but the point is that it'll shrink the pie. Personally, I think they're committed to Chase if only for the fact that he came with such a significant opportunity cost at the draft. They wouldn't let him go in order to, for example, sign an OT1 as a FA (Sewell? Lol). The optics alone would prevent that. So I think it's safe to say they're all in on Chase. That decision has already been made.
What I really wanted to emphasize is that this particular deal comes down to Will Anderson even more so than Tee. I mentioned that in my first post. He's no chopped liver. If this guy is the next Khalil Mack (or- gasp- Von Miller), those assets you're hoarding are cumulatively still worth less than what you're getting. I mean, Von Miller?! He won DROY and was 2nd in DPOY the next year. Get that kind of immediate production from Anderson and you're laughing. You're not worried about the TE or OT prospects that you might have given up to get him (positions that this regime has never developed successfully I might add- positions they might be better served to sign off the street anyway).
You're getting an All-Pro D-MVP candidate with four full years before he needs to be re-upped. What's more, he may well be precisely the kind of talent elevator you need to help overcome the losses of Bates, Anarumo, et al., and allow the payroll to do more with less while Joe Burrow eats $50+ million moving forward.
Just saying I wouldn't sleep on that kind of talent. Miller joined the worst defense in the league and vaulted them to #4 within two years, #1 within four, and basically kept them at the top for a decade before he was dealt. Granted, it's not about Von Miller; it's about Will Anderson. But those are his comps right now- Von, Mack, Barrett... some of the top names in football. If Anderson can produce at that level straight out of the gate, it's worth exploring---
Big if, though.
